ancient egypt, ch. 3, stokstad, art history, fall 2013
TRANSCRIPT
ANCIENT
EGYPT
AR
T H
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ANCIENT EGYPT – TIME SEQUENCE
Predynastic – 5000-2950 BCEEarly Dynastic - 2950-2575
BCEOld Kingdom - 2575-2150
BCEMiddle Kingdom - 1957-1640
BCENew Kingdom - 1630-1520
BCELate Egyptian - 715-332
BCE
Predynastic – 5000-2950 BCE• Ceramic figurines• Decorated pottery• Ivory carved in relief• Stone plaques carved in relief• Wall paintings (found in mud
brick houses at Hierakonpolis)
DYNASTIES AND MANETHO’S LIST
• Chronological list of rulers compiled by Manetho, Egyptian priest/historian in 3rd century BCE
• 30 dynasties confirmed by temple records, from 3000 to 332 BCE (when Alexander the Great conquered.)
RELIGION IN EGYPT - POLYTHEISTIC
Ra (Ra-Atum) = sun god
Tefnut & Shu = gods of wetness and dryness
Geb (earth) and Nut (sky)
Osiris (king) married sister, Isis; killed by brother, Seth. Nepthys & Isis pieced Osiris back together with Anubis’ (jackal) help. Isis birthed Horus (king of the earth; falcon-headed; defeated Seth) and Osiris became king of the dead.
• Kings=divine• Ensure gods’ favor • Ordered cosmos/ Afterlife
Early Dynastic - 2950-2575 BCENarmer Palette, 2950-2775 BCE.
Green schist, height 25”.
Old Kingdom - 2575-2150 BCECanon of Proportions – male body
18 units
1 unit =width of fist
Grid
Twisted perspective
Groundlines
Early Dynastic
From “mastaba” to “pyramid”
Early Dynastic
Stepped Pyramid of Djoser (2630-2575 BCE) , 204’ high
Old Kingdom - 2575-2150 BCEGreat Pyramids at Giza (2575-2450
BCE)http://www.airpano.com/360Degree-VirtualTour.php?3D=Egypt-Cairo-P
Yramids
Giza Plateau follows the sun’s east-west course.
Old Kingdom - 2575-2150 BCE
Old Kingdom - 2575-2150 BCEKhufu: oldest/largest pyramid (13 acre base!), 481’ high
2.3 million
Blocks of
Stone…2.5 tons
each block!
Old Kingdom - 2575-2150 BCEKhafre - Great Sphinx, 65’
Old Kingdom - 2575-2150 BCESCULPTURE
• Block-like/solid/compact
• Diorite
Khafre, in the Valley Temple of Khafre at Giza. (Ruled 2520-2494 BCE).
Old Kingdom - 2575-2150 BCEMenkaure and a Queen, Giza (ruled 2490-
2472 BCE)
Old Kingdom - 2575-2150 BCE
Seated Scribe, 2450-2325 BCE
Writing:• Hieroglyphic• Hieratic -simplified• Demotic – 8th century BCE
• Religious: hieratic• Monuments:
hieroglyph• All else: demotic• Coptic (Greeks 332
BCE)• Rosetta Stone 196
BCE, discovered in 1818
Old Kingdom - 2575-2150 BCE
Ti Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt, Tomb of Ti, Saqqara. 2450-2325 BCE. 45”
Middle Kingdom - 1957-1640 BCE
Head of Senusret III, Twelfth Dynasty (2938-1755 BCE).
• 150 years of unrest until 11th dynasty (3 successive kings named Mentuhotep); reunited.
• Powerful, unified government
• Arts flourished• Military expansion• Rock-cut tombs
(solid/painted)• Faience (glass paste;
glossy finish)
Middle Kingdom - 1957-1640 BCE
Beni Hasan, 1938-1755 BCE, Twelfth Dynasty.
Middle Kingdom - 1957-1640 BCE• Well-observed accurate detail
• Faience: glass paste fired to produce shiny, smooth, opaque finish
• Glass: sand +lime + sodium carbonate (or sodium sulfate), fired
Hippopotamus, Tomb of Senbi (Tomb B.3), Meir. Twelfth Dynasty, 1938-1755 BCE. Faience, 20 cm long. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Middle Kingdom - 1957-1640 BCE
Stele of Amenemhat I, Assasif. Twelfth Dynasty, 1938-1755 BCE. Painted Limestone.
New Kingdom - 1539-1075 BCE• Hyksos invasion; 18th Dynasty regains
control
• Thutmose III - 1479-1425 BCE, 18th dynasty, (first to use the term “pharoah”, which means “great house.” )•15 military campaigns/diplomacy
• Great Temple Complexes along Nile River•Pylon – tapered wall gateway•Hypostyle hall – vast hall with columns•Peristyle court – courtyard surrounded by columns
GREAT TEMPLE OF AMUN AT KARNAK
HYPOSTYLE HALL – GREAT TEMPLE OF AMUN AT KARNAK – 1290-1190 BCE
FUNERARY TEMPLE OF HATSHEPSUT – 1473-1458 BCE
HATSHEPSUT ENTHRONED, 18TH DYNASTY-Queen Ahmose and god Amun
-Regent for Thutmose III; kept him from rule for 20 years
-Funerary Temple at Deir el-Bahri – buried in Valley of kings, though,
Northwest half a mile…
AKENHATEN, COLOSSAL FIGURE• 1353 BCE – ascended the throne (18th
Dynasty)
• 17 year reign
• NEW RELIGION – honoring the sun-god, Aten
• “maat” divine truth
“One who is effective on behalf of Aten” - 1348 BCE
• New capital : not Thebes, but Akhetaten (Tell el-Amarna)
• AMARNA PERIOD ART: glassmaking, sculpture, etc.
NEFERTITI – 1353-1336 BCE
AKHENATEN AND HIS FAMILY – 1353-1336 BCE
QUEEN TIY (AKHENATEN’S MOTHER) – 1342 BCE
TUTANKHAMUN’S SARCOPHAGUS – 1332-1322 BCE
TEMPLE OF RAMESES II AT ABU SIMBEL – 1279-1213 BCE
Late Egyptian - 715-332 BCEMummy Wrapping of a Young Boy, 100-120 CE : linen wrappings
with giled stucco buttons and inserted portrait in encaustic on wood. 53 3/8”